Almond or soy milk expiration

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runningforthetrain
runningforthetrain Posts: 1,037 Member
in Food and Nutrition
For the last few years I have been drinking soy milk. Recently I have been trying Almond milk. All the times I drank soy milk (the carton kind) I did not pay attention to expiration because the products are always marked with the "best by" mark. For some reason I am remembering that I saw a "use after opened within 7 days." But, there is no such indication on the ones I have now. I opened some almond milk about a month and a half ago... Do you think it is still ok to drink? Do tell soy and almond milk drinkers-- how long after opening are they still safe to drink?

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  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,978 Member
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    I drink soymilk that I buy at Costco.

    I've kept and used milk 6 months to a year past the "use by" date w/o problems but, as soon as you open the carton, all bets are off.

    A week should be no problem but, after that, I use the smell/look tests b4 I drink it and if in doubt I'll just toss it out.

    My GF also uses it her coffee and if it's "bad," it eill clump and seperate like bad milk/cream does, so that's another test.

  • kpsyche
    kpsyche Posts: 345 Member
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    I always drink mine within 7 days. I will sometimes go a day over that because I don't drink a lot of it, but more than 8 or so days I'd start to be worried about it and throw it out. They are fruit- (almond) and bean- (soy) based products that have been treated with ultra high heat to pasteurize them (killing all the bacteria) and then the carton/bottle is sealed. Once the carton is opened the contents are exposed to the air -- more specifically, bacteria that is in the air -- and the contents begins to spoil due to bacterial colonies forming and fats begin to go rancid.
  • DragonHasTheSapphire
    DragonHasTheSapphire Posts: 184 Member
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    I wouldn't wait much longer than a week after opening the container, I drink my cashew/almond/soymilk quite quickly, usually takes less than 7 days to finish. I probably would toss it out, but you can test it out and smell it first.
  • glassyo
    glassyo Posts: 7,596 Member
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    It takes me a little over 2 weeks to polish off a 32 oz carton of shelf stable almond milk and it's still fine. I think a month is pushing it, tho.
  • nickssweetheart
    nickssweetheart Posts: 874 Member
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    It can take me up to two weeks to finish my soy milk and it's always been fine, but at a month and a half I'd just toss it out and get another carton.
  • vallary14
    vallary14 Posts: 215 Member
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    Almond milk goes bad faster than soy milk. I would try to use it in about a week.
  • strongwouldbenice
    strongwouldbenice Posts: 153 Member
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    A bit of a different situation but I've had off *fresh* almond milk, ie. cold pressed, no preservatives.. it tasted like ham. It was so awful. I'll never let any kind of milk go near a use by date now :D
  • runningforthetrain
    runningforthetrain Posts: 1,037 Member
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    Thanks guys! I am going to toss the almond milk and stick to 2 weeks after opening.

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